Category Archives: Frog fun

10/9/12

Calling All Frog Artists! A Reminder about the Frogs Are Green Kids' Art Contest 2012

Now that school is underway and the weather is getting colder (at least in this part of the world), it’s the perfect time to create some frog art. We hope you will consider submitting your frog art masterpieces to Frogs Are Green for our 2012 Kids’ Art Contest.

Here are the details:

Contest theme: IT’S EASY BEING GREEN!

Your artwork can be about frogs, how we can help them, or about ways we can be green at home, at school, or in the community. Your art can really be anything that inspires you about frogs or other amphibians. A winning piece from last year’s contest, for example, submitted by Ula Lekecinskaite, a 12-year-old girl from the Kaunus Art Gymnasium in Lithuania, celebrates frogs and rainy days:

We will award winners based on age in these age groups: 3-6, 7-9, and 10-12. The winners will receive a Frogs Are Green poster of their choice from our store and a winner’s certificate. All kids who enter the contest will receive a certificate of participation that can be downloaded from our site.

We’re looking for drawings, paintings, sculpture, collage, mixed media, or whatever format helps you express yourself.

Deadline for submissions is December 15, 2012; winners will be announced January 15, 2013. The winners will be featured in a post.

This year we have a new contest area using Flickr, where you can enter yourself. You must add a caption/ description with your Name, Age, and Country or your submission will not be included. Please see the contest page for more details.

We can’t wait to see your artwork!

And photographers—don’t forget that we are still accepting photographs of frogs and other amphibians for our 2012 photography contest. See the contest page.

02/28/12

Leap Day the Frog Way

We’re happy to feature this guest post by Meghan Bartels from the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project in celebration of leaping frogs. Don’t miss the wonderful song below by Alex Culbreth.

The real purpose of leap day may be to keep the calendar aligned with the seasons, but here at the Panama Amphibian Conservation and Rescue Project, we’d like to believe the day is designed to honor our favorite leapers. To celebrate, we’ve put together some fun facts about frog leaping.

Frog Leaping courtesy Brian Gratwicke

Frog Leaping courtesy Brian Gratwicke & Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project

  • Not all frogs can leap, or even hop. The desert rain frog (Breviceps macrops) has legs that are too short to hop. Instead, it walks.
  • Male frogs of the genus Pipa are known to defend their territory by jumping at and then wrestling other males.
  • The New Guinea bush frog (Asterophrys turpicola) takes jump attacks one step further: before it jumps at a strange frog, it inflates itself and shows off its blue tongue.
  • Stumpffia tridactyla are normally slow-moving critters, but when they’re startled they can abruptly jump up to 8 inches. That doesn’t sound very far, but these little guys are less than half an inch long!
  • The Fuji tree frog (Platymantis vitiensis) may be the leaping stuntman of the frog world. Each time it leaps, it twists in the air—sometimes even 180 degrees—to throw predators off its trail.
  • The Larut torrent frog (Amolops larutensis) gets its name from a nifty leaping trick: it can jump into a fast-moving stream and back to its usual perch, the underside of a rock, without being affected by the current.
  • Similarly, the parachuting red-eyed leaf frog (Agalychnis saltator) gets its name because it speeds to mating opportunities by jumping from trees with finger-and toe-webbing spread wide.
  • The record for longest jump by an American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) recorded in a scientific paper is a little over 4 feet. But scientists who went to the Calaveras County Fair, which Mark Twain’s short story made famous for frog jumping, found that more than half the competitors bested that record—and one jumped more than 7 feet in one leap!
  • The Guinness Book of World Records doesn’t include any frogs for their leaping ability. But it does track human performance in frog jumping (jumping while holding one’s toes). There are records listed for the longest frog jump and the fastest frog jumping over 10 and 100 meters.

 

In honor of leap day celebrations being coordinated globally by Amphibian Ark, the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project made this video for a frog song written by Alex Culbreth.

01/5/12

Announcing the Winners of the Frogs Are Green Kids Art Contest 2011

We’re excited to announce the winners of our second annual FROGS ARE GREEN art contest for kids. We received over 500 entries from young artists from more than 20 countries around the world. Each piece of art is special to us and we are so grateful to the kids, parents, and teachers who sent in their creations. We were thrilled to see so many original, fun, and thoughtful drawings and paintings of our favorite amphibian. It was extremely difficult to pick winners.

This year we also received many 3D artworks so we added a 3D art category. In addition, we added three more categories—the best “green theme” artwork, the best “poster idea or promotion” of Frogs Are Green, and the most “unusual” art.

The artwork will continue to be on exhibit in our gallery, and we encourage all participants to show off their amazing artwork to friends, family, and fellow students. We will be sending out the free wristbands to every child who entered the contest. If you haven’t sent us your address, please do so. You can also print out a downloadable certificate of participation.

Ages 3-6

Winner: Artwork by Jane Poon, 4.5 yrs old, “This is art” creative studio, Hong Kong.

Artwork by Jane Poon, 4.5 yrs old, "This is art" creative studio, Hong Kong.

Artwork by Jane Poon, 4.5 yrs old, "This is art" creative studio, Hong Kong.

Second place: Artwork by Jovan Miscevic, 6 years, Belgrade, Serbia.

Artwork by Jovan Miscevic, 6 yrs old, Belgrade, Serbia.

Artwork by Jovan Miscevic, 6 yrs old, Belgrade, Serbia.

Honorable mentions:

Artwork by Andrzej So, 3.8 yrs old, “This is art” creative studio, Hong Kong.

Artwork by Andrzej So, 3.8 yrs old, "This is art" creative studio, Hong Kong.

Artwork by Andrzej So, 3.8 yrs old, "This is art" creative studio, Hong Kong.

Artwork by Viruja Vidumitha Handunpathirana, 5 years, Kalutara, Sri Lanka.

Artwork by Viruja Vidumitha Handunpathirana, 5 yrs old, Kalutara, Sri Lanka

Artwork by Viruja Vidumitha Handunpathirana, 5 yrs old, Kalutara, Sri Lanka.

Ages 7-9

Winner: Artwork by Megan Mol, 7 years old, Somerset West, Cape, South Africa.

Artwork in a mixed media style, using oil pastels, paint and dyes, by Megan Mol, 7 yrs old, from the school, Beaumont Primary in Somerset West, Cape, South Africa.

Artwork in a mixed media style, using oil pastels, paint and dyes, by Megan Mol, 7 yrs old, from the school, Beaumont Primary in Somerset West, Cape, South Africa.

Second place: Artwork by Alyona Kuzmuk, 9 years old, West Sacramento, California, USA

"Wild Frog" artwork by Alyona Kuzmuk, 9 yrs old, West Sacramento, CA.

"Wild Frog" artwork by Alyona Kuzmuk, 9 yrs old, West Sacramento, CA.

Honorable mentions:

Artwork by Valeriy Karabchukova, 7 years old, Belgrade, Serbia

Artwork by Valeriy Karabchukova, 7 yrs old, Belgrade, Serbia.

Artwork by Valeriy Karabchukova, 7 yrs old, Belgrade, Serbia.

Artwork by Daria Okhremtchuk, 7 years old, Davis, CA.

Artwork by Daria Okhremtchuk, 7 yrs old, Davis, CA.

Artwork by Daria Okhremtchuk, 7 yrs old, Davis, CA.

Ages 10-12

Winner:

Artwork by Ausrine Kepezinskaite, 12 yrs old, Lithuania.

Artwork by Ausrine Kepezinskaite, 12 yrs old, Kaunas Art Gymnasium, Lithuania.

Artwork by Ausrine Kepezinskaite, 12 yrs old, Kaunas Art Gymnasium, Lithuania.

Second place: Luksamon Wangchotikul, 11 yrs old, Bangkok, Thailand.

Artwork by Luksamon Wangchotikul, 11 yrs old, Pan-Asian International School, Bangkok, Thailand.

Artwork by Luksamon Wangchotikul, 11 yrs old, Pan-Asian International School, Bangkok, Thailand.

Honorable mentions:

Artwork by Farah Eltohamy, age 11, Chandler, Arizona, USA

Artwork by Farah Eltohamy, age 11, Chandler, Arizona, USA

Artwork by Farah Eltohamy, age 11, Chandler, Arizona, USA

Artwork by Mariya Grabovska, 10 yrs old, Roseville, California, USA

Watercolor artwork by Mariya Grabovska, 10 yrs old, Roseville, CA.

Watercolor artwork by Mariya Grabovska, 10 yrs old, Roseville, CA.

Artwork by Aiste Krilaviciute, 12 yrs old, Lithuania

Artwork by Aiste Krilaviciute, 12 yrs old, Kaunas Art Gymnasium, Lithuania.

Artwork by Aiste Krilaviciute, 12 yrs old, Kaunas Art Gymnasium, Lithuania.

Artwork by Ula Lekecinskaite, 12 yrs old, Lithuania

Artwork by Ula Lekecinskaite, 12 yrs old, Kaunas Art Gymnasium, Lithuania.

Artwork by Ula Lekecinskaite, 12 yrs old, Kaunas Art Gymnasium, Lithuania.

Best 3D Art

Winner: 3D Frog Sculpture by Ariana Brush, 8 years old, Lake Helen, Florida, USA

3D Frog Sculpture by Adriana Ledoux, age 8 from Ivy Hawn Charter School of the Arts, Lake Helen, FL.

3D Frog Sculpture by Ariana Brush, age 8 from Ivy Hawn Charter School of the Arts, Lake Helen, FL.

Honorable mentions:

Tile Sculpture by Children from SP2 (school) in Kwidzyn, Poland

3D Tile Sculpture by Children from SP2 (school) in Kwidzyn, Poland.

3D Tile Sculpture by Children from SP2 (school) in Kwidzyn, Poland.

Artwork by Emilija Ciuplyte, Karolina Budvytyte, Migle Ginaityte, Augustas Mozuras, Urte Kasperiunaite, Andreja Urbanaviciute, Dautartas Rimkus, Rytis Ziberkas, Beatrice Milkeviciute, 9 yrs old, Kaunas Art Gymnasium, Lithuania.

Artwork by students, 9 yrs old, Kaunas Art Gymnasium, Lithuania.

Artwork by students, 9 yrs old, Kaunas Art Gymnasium, Lithuania.

Best “Green Theme” Art

Winner: Artwork by Erik Zou, 11 yrs old, Lexington, MA.

Artwork by Erik Zou, 11 yrs old, Lexington, MA.

Artwork by Erik Zou, 11 yrs old, Lexington, MA.

Honorable mentions:

Artwork by Kristine Zhou, 10 yrs old, Ann Arbor, MI.

"It's Easy Being Green" artwork by Kristine Zhou, 10 yrs old, Ann Arbor, MI.

"It's Easy Being Green" artwork by Kristine Zhou, 10 yrs old, Ann Arbor, MI.

Artwork by Soojin Jang, 10 yrs old, Maryland

Artwork by Soojin Jang, 10 yrs old, Maryland

Artwork by Soojin Jang, 10 yrs old, Maryland

Elizabeth Xiong, 9 yrs old, Ann Arbor, MI.

"Keep Green! Save Us!" artwork by Elizabeth Xiong, 9 yrs old, Ann Arbor, MI.

"Keep Green! Save Us!" artwork by Elizabeth Xiong, 9 yrs old, Ann Arbor, MI.

Best “Frogs Are Green” Poster

Winner: Artwork by Smitha Mahesh, 12 years old, Perryhall, MD.

Artwork by Smitha Mahesh, 12 years old, Perryhall, MD.

Artwork by Smitha Mahesh, 12 years old, Perryhall, MD.

Honorable mention:

Artwork by Skyla Valade, age 12, Belle River, Ontario, Canada.

Artwork by Skyla Valade, age 12, Belle River, Ontario, Canada.

Artwork by Skyla Valade, age 12, Belle River, Ontario, Canada.

Most Unusual Artwork

Winner: Artwork by Valeriy Karabchukova, 7 yrs old, Belgrade, Serbia.

Artwork by Valeriy Karabchukova, 7 yrs old, Belgrade, Serbia.
Artwork by Valeriy Karabchukova, 7 yrs old, Belgrade, Serbia.

Thanks to all the participants!

08/14/11

Frogs: A Chorus of Colors in NYC at American Museum of Natural History

The other day Susan and I ventured into New York City to see the traveling exhibit Frogs: A Chorus of Colors again at the American Museum of Natural History because we enjoyed it so much the first time we saw it. The exhibit features over 200 live frogs in re-created natural habitats, complete with rock ledges, live plants, and waterfalls.

If you live near NYC or need an excuse to visit the Big Apple, we highly recommend this exhibit, which runs until January 8, 2012. Most of the exhibits are at eye level for even the youngest kids, who had fun trying to spot the well-camouflaged frogs. They can also push buttons to hear frog calls, view videos of frogs in action, and even dissect a frog virtually with a program called Froguts. (Teachers take note: the kids were fascinated by this and several tried their hand at it.)

Here are a few things you will learn:

  • The Cuban tree frog is probably the smallest frog at only 1/2 inch in length
  • The cane toad lays 35,000 eggs in a single string
  • The Australian water-holding frog digs in desert soils and can remain underground for years
  • The world’s biggest frog is the West African goliath at 15 inches and weighing 7 lbs, as much as a newborn infant.

The stars of the exhibit were the dart poison frogs. Their  jewel-like colors warn predators not to eat them. One type of poison dart frog can kill 20,000 mice or 10 people with its poison, which is excreted through the skin. As the label on this exhibit says, “Don’t kiss these frogs!” The baby dart poison frogs, hiding in the palm leaves, were pretty cute. They were about the size of a fingernail.

Susan took some videos of the frogs in the exhibit:

 

 

 
Note: This is a partial repost of our original visit in 2009

05/22/11

Frog Paparazzi – Photographing Amphibians this Summer

This summer we’d like to encourage you to get out and photograph amphibians while on vacation or near home, even in your own backyard! The beauty of photographing frogs and other amphibians is that you don’t have to go on a safari or travel to someplace exotic to photograph them.

Here are a few tips from the book Frogs: A Chorus of Colors by John and Deborah Behler, which has a chapter on photographing these well-camouflaged creatures:

• Try to learn about the animal first. What is its habitat? When are they active?
• Walk slowly and stop frequently [it helps to have someone with you who is less than 3 feet tall and has sharp eyes]. Frogs and toads blend in so well that they are hard to find. Be alert for subtle movements.
• In summer, you might find the sit-and-wait frog predators hanging out on the edges of ponds and lakes.
• Be aware of the position of the sun. Avoid taking pictures at midday on bright sunny days. In the morning, face east and it will keep sunlight from coming into your lens and washing out your photos.
• Don’t necessarily put the subject in the middle of the photo. Keep the whole animal in the photo, but compose the picture so the background tells a story.
• Bracket your photos, i.e., take the same shot with different settings. Also, try taking a flash photo. Without a flash, animals in photos may look lifeless and poorly lighted.
• Try to be on the same level as your subject.
• State parks, bird sanctuaries, and wildlife refuges are good places to find amphibians.

You don’t need a fancy camera to get interesting shots. I took this photo of a  spring peeper in low light with a Kodak EasyShare camera on the Flower Setting (might be called “close up” on your camera). When we were traveling in Virginia, my husband stopped the car so that we could listen to the peepers. Although peepers are often heard with their distinct high-pitched “peeps,” they are seldom seen. My son spotted the peeper below, but it took my husband and I about five minutes before we were able to see the inch-long and extremely well-camouflaged frog. Once we spotted it, the frog sat stock still for a few minutes to allow all three of us to behave like amphibian paparazzi (we took a dozen pictures before the frog had had enough and hopped off).

I think this is one of the reasons I enjoy photographing frogs: they have a survival behavior that causes them to freeze when they sense danger, in order to avoid detection from predators (unlike mammals like rabbits, deer etc, which will hop or run off long before you’ve even focused) so that it’s possible to get some great pictures of them.

spring peeper, photo by Mary Jo Rhodes

For inspiration, we recommend taking a look at the book Frog: A Photographic Portrait, a gorgeous collection of photographs by wildlife photographer Thomas Marent, who traveled to rainforests all over the world to photograph unusual amphibians. As he says, “The variety of colors, shapes, and sounds of frogs is truly spectacular, and a wildlife photographer’s dream….!”

Don’t forget to submit your best amphibian photograph to our 3rd Annual Photo Contest!

FROG: A PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT by Thomas Marent

05/4/11

Another Fairy Tale Wedding

On the morning of the April 29, I got up at dawn to watch the Royal Wedding. Because it was also the 3rd Annual Save the Frogs day, my mind was full of frogs, too. So frogs, princes, frog princes, and fairy tales were all mixed up in my mind. I was trying to find a connection between these two events. True, the groom’s father, Prince Charles, is the main spokesman for the Prince’s Rainforest Project, which has a frog as its mascot, but…

Yesterday I came across a story in the Dorset (England) Echo that tied these two events together. It turns out Will and Kate weren’t the only couple married in England on April 29. Another couple, Sabrina Laben and Simon Pittman, also tied the knot. They did not (I don’t think) arrive at the church in a Rolls-Royce, probably didn’t have a trumpet fanfare, and definitely didn’t have a billion people watching their ceremony.

Instead, they created a Save the Frogs wedding. Sabrina loves frogs and in lieu of gifts, she requested that donations be made to Save the Frogs. A “frog and frogette” stood on top of the wedding cake instead of traditional bride and groom figurines, and they sent out frog-decorated invitations. They had their reception Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens, noted for its idyllic setting and multiple ponds.

courtesy of weddingandcakes.com

The more I thought about it, the better I liked this idea of an amphibian-themed wedding. In many cultures, frogs are symbols of good luck, prosperity, and fertility. They are associated with fairy tales and happy endings and transformations (the frog turning into a prince). As Susan and I know, people seem to love giving frog-related gifts. And what better place for a wedding than near a beautiful pond? If it rains, even better—frogs love rain and you might have a frog chorus accompaniment to your wedding!

For more information about other events that occurred on Save the Frogs day, and about the organization’s ongoing efforts and activities, please click here